Incubators of the aforementioned type are sufficiently known from the state of the art, for example from DE 10 2005 036 763 A1. In this connection, a drawer that carries the sample container serves for loading and unloading the sample chamber, and a corresponding drawer mechanism is provided, with which the sample container can be moved into the sample chamber through an access opening of the incubator, which opening can be closed off with a cover, and, after the incubation procedure has been carried out, can be moved out of the sample chamber once again. In this connection, the drawer mechanism that bears the drawer and the cover is disposed and mounted, at least in part, within the sample chamber.
Because of the placement and installation of the drawer mechanism within the sample chamber, which exists at least in part, the drawer mechanism of such an incubator is frequently exposed to the possibly harmful atmosphere in the sample chamber, which is particularly contaminated by chemical or biological samples possibly partially evaporating within the incubator or by gases introduced into the sample chamber externally, and this makes regular cleaning of the drawer mechanism necessary, for one thing, and, for another thing—for example due to the corrosion processes that are promoted by this—is disadvantageous for the useful lifetime of a corresponding drawer mechanism. Furthermore, as a result, the sample chamber as such is also difficult and complicated to clean, because of the drawer mechanism that is disposed or installed in it, at least in part, and this also proves to be a disadvantage.
Furthermore, (external) robot systems are also known from the state of the art, with which a sample container (for example a microtiter plate for holding multiple samples at the same time) can be moved into the sample chamber of an incubator, set down there, and, after completion of the incubation process, moved out of the chamber again. In this connection, it is always provided that the robot system that serves as the insertion and removal mechanism reaches into the sample chamber when the access opening is open and must be moved out of the sample chamber again before the access opening is closed, which is a disadvantage, also in terms of time. Furthermore, commercially available robot systems are generally not suitable for setting down or picking up sample containers in a spatially restricted sample chamber, and therefore must be adapted to this or designed accordingly, with significant effort. Moreover, external robot systems frequently prove to be complicated to adjust and/or do not meet the demand that exists for an incubator that is as compact as possible, with an integrated insertion and removal mechanism.
Against this background, it is the task of the present invention to make available an incubator of the type stated initially, which is as compact as possible, easy to handle, and improved as compared with the state of the art, having an insertion and removal mechanism for loading and unloading the sample chamber, with which the disadvantages mentioned above are eliminated.